Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is so much more than a day to bring your mom a bouquet of flowers. It's a day to appreciate all of the little things she does. Like the time she walked 30 minutes through a snow storm to bring you Tylenol when you were babysitting and had a bad headache. Like the time she curled up on the bathmat beside you when you spent the night in the washroom with a stomach bug. Like the numerous times she was up hours before the sun to make sure you were dressed and ready for your competition.
My mom has done all of these things. She is an incredible woman and more importantly an incredible mom.
Happy Mother's Day, mom.
I hope one day I can do all of the same things for my own children that you did for me.

And to my grandmother's who have been there for guidance, my aunt's who provide support and funny insight into why my parents are the way they are, my cousins who have recently become mother's themselves (Congrats Andrea! I hope your first mother's day is a beautiful one, and congrats to Lena who just had a baby boy recently!), and who are mother's to very lucky pets (people who argue animals are not family members are heartless haha) - to big sisters and friends who often find themselves giving motherly advice.
To all mother's of every shape and form -
THANK YOU

For my mom we ordered Greek food (which was quickly devoured) and it inspired me to put up a recipe that I am desperate to try out. I had it for the first time in Montreal at the suggestion of my friend Danielle and oh. my. lord. I am so glad I tried it!

Moussaka
(recipe courtesy of marthastewart.com)

Picture from http://lovelyrecipes.files.wordpress.com

To make this you will need:

• 2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for eggplant
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
• Olive-oil cooking spray

To put it all together:

1. Drain yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve until thickened, 2 hours or overnight.
2. Place turkey in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and pepper to saucepan; cook until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Return turkey to saucepan with tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low; simmer until sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. Remove from heat; stir in chopped parsley; set aside.
3. Preheat broiler. While sauce cooks, cut eggplants into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle with salt on both sides. Place in a colander over a bowl; let stand 1 hour to drain. Discard liquid; rinse each slice under cold running water to remove all salt and juice. Place slices on several layers of paper towels; press out water. Lay dry slices on a clean baking sheet; coat with olive-oil spray; broil until browned, about 2 minutes. Turn; coat with olive-oil spray; broil until browned, about 2 minutes more. Repeat until all eggplant slices have been broiled; set cooked eggplant aside.
4. Place drained yogurt in a small bowl. Add Parmesan and eggs. Whisk together briskly with a fork; set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Assemble moussaka: Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Cover with half the turkey sauce. Place another eggplant layer, then the remaining turkey sauce.Add a final eggplant layer; cover with reserved yogurt mixture. Bake until mixture is bubbling and top starts to brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a heat-proof surface; let sit until moussaka cools slightly and firms, about 10 minutes. Cut into squares; serve.

I have a cookie recipe and a biscotti recipe to post this week. I made Earl Grey Tea Cookies and Cranberry Corn Meal Biscotti for John to take with him on his second week away :(
Back to Grimsby for work for another week.
Looks like my mom is going to be planning another sleep over!